The Mystery Of The Ultimate Life Form
by Chip903
Summary: What if Rouge The Bat didn't let Shadow The Hedgehog just simply walk away from her after revealing to him that he may not be the ultimate life form? Takes place during 'Mystery Of Shadow' in "Sonic Adventure 2."


_**~The Mystery Of The Ultimate Life Form~**_

Shadow The Hedgehog was standing by one of the many large windows inside the Space Colony Ark, observing the descending capsule that held Sonic The Hedgehog, or 'The Fake Hedgehog' as Shadow came to know him as, within. He had kept tabs on what had gone on in the main control room and a slight smirk came to his face as he saw the capsule explode, apparently ending the life of the one known as "The Blue Blur."

"I guess he was just a regular hedgehog, after all," said the black and red hedgehog as he crossed his arms over his chest. "The time is almost here. Soon every last one of those humans will feel the wrath of my vengeance. All that's left now is for the Eclipse Cannon to fire." He looked out the window once more and remembered when he and his departed friend Maria Robotnik would do the same, gazing at the stars and dreaming about going to Earth. "Just a bit longer Maria…"

A sound snapped the hedgehog out of his thoughts and he turned to the door of the room, seeing the shadow of a figure walking down the hall. Narrowing his eyes, he crept to the door and took a look outside, seeing Rouge The Bat walking in a rather sneaky fashion. "What is she up to?" he said to himself.

He saw her come to a stop outside a door. A very familiar door, at that. "The cannon room where the Chaos Emeralds are…" A low growl came from Shadow as he clenched his fists tightly. "Looks like what I dug up on her is true." He left the room he was in and walked towards the cannon room as well.

* * *

Rouge couldn't believe she had done it. After all the trickery she had to use to her advantage, she was literally just feet away from completing her objective of locating the Chaos Emeralds. However, her greedy nature began to exude from her as she walked towards the gems.

"Legend has it, when all seven Chaos Emeralds are collected, the power creates a miracle," she said in awe. "I have six of them. They're mine, all mine!"

Just as she was going to place her hands on one of them, she heard a voice from behind her. "I don't think so!"

The bat froze a bit before turning her head and seeing who had busted her. "Shadow…"

The aforementioned hedgehog walked down the walkway until he was halfway down it. "So, that was your plan from the very beginning huh?" he asked, never taking his eyes off her. "Or was it a direct order from the president?" Putting two and two together from his earlier findings, he finally figured it out. "Now I know who you are. You're the government spy, Rouge The Bat, aren't you?"

Rouge's eyes narrowed in response, as did Shadow's. The two of them engaged in an intense staredown before Rouge rolled her eyes, seeing that there was no reason to keep up the rouse and revealed herself. "So you did your homework, is that it? I would say that's an invasion of privacy."

"I can say the same thing about you," Shadow retorted.

"Hmmm!" Rouge hmphed as she placed her hands on her hips. "It looks like things aren't quite going your way. But since my job is done…I thought it was time I take what's mine and get out of this place."

Shadow was disgusted at the bat and turned away from the bat, deciding not to waste his time with one as greedy and cold as her. "You are one pathetic creature!"

"Hmmm, look who's talking?" Rouge spat back at him. "What about you?"

Shadow turned back around, a bit confused at her words. As he was about to speak, he saw that she had leapt off the upper stand and was slowly floating down to the walkway, holding a sheet of paper in her hand as she did so.

"Here are the results of the research project called the ultimate life form," she began. "But if this picture is of the real ultimate life form named, Shadow…" She landed just a few feet on the walkway in front of Shadow. "…then exactly who or what is standing in front of me?"

Shadow was seething inside. He couldn't believe that he, the ultimate life form, was being accused of not being who he said he was. And in the fashion that Rouge said it – so smug – it angered him even more. But at the same time, he was confused as he looked at the paper, which was a newspaper article of sorts and showed a picture of a large lizard that he had never seen before. How could it be possible that such a creature was claimed to be the ultimate life form as well as himself?

On the other hand, Rouge believed that the lizard could very well be the true ultimate life form and she in reality felt sorry for Shadow. After finding out about the lizard, she began to wonder how and why Shadow would continue to say he is something he isn't and be in denial of what she believed to be the truth.

As Shadow and rouge once again stared each other down, neither of them backing down, the hedgehog's walkie-talkie began to go off. Shadow reached for it, activated it, and held it to his ear, still glaring hard at Rouge as Dr. Eggman's voice began to speak from the walkie-talkie.

_"This is Dr. Eggman! I have found all seven Chaos Emeralds! Shadow! Someone is trying to get to the Eclipse Cannon. There's not much time left before it fires again. Can you get over there?"_

A grunt of annoyance came from Shadow as he snatched the walkie-talkie away from his ear. _'Someone else trying to interfere.'_ He turned his attention back to the spy before him and he didn't have the time to deal with her. "If you want to live, leave the Chaos Emeralds where they are! The fake emerald is good enough for you."

Rouge watched as the hedgehog turned to leave in order to carry out stopping whoever it was approaching the Eclipse Cannon, a look of pity coming to her face. "Do you actually believe that you're the real Shadow?"

Shadow stopped walking and eyed the door in front of him as he replied with confidence, "No doubt!"

'_Why must he continue to live a lie like this?'_ The bat thought to herself. "Even your memories might not be real, you know." Her ears dropped down as she spoke.

Shadow began to feel rage filling him once more at the bat's words as he started to question whether or not her, as well as the article, could be in fact the truth. Shaking his head a bit, he remembered that he had a mission to complete. "Even if my memories aren't real…" he began. "…it's still me, Shadow. And I will fulfill my promise to Maria." He turned his head and looked back at her. "That's all that matters to me now."

Rouge flew over to Shadow and stood right in front of him, preventing him from going further. "Why must you continue to doubt the facts!?" She held the article up and placed it just an inch away from his face. "You've been in denial and living a lie for over fifty years! The truth is right before your eyes! You're not who you think you are! You're not the ultimate life form! Why can't you just accept it!?"

"Because I could care less about what that article says!" Shadow yelled back, his anger coming to the surface as he shoved the paper out of his face. "No matter what anyone or that paper or yours says, I am the true ultimate life form and always will be!"

Rouge was taken aback by the hedgehog's harsh, but passionate words and all she could do was look at him, doing her best to keep her emotions in check. Shadow's eyes were filled with anger and rage, but slowly he began to regain his composure.

"So…No matter what truth it may hold, you refuse to listen to what this article says about the truth about the ultimate life form…?" Rouge managed to ask.

Shadow answered by shaking his head and, to the surprise of both him and Rouge, placed his hands gently on her shoulder. "The reason I made it this far was not only my desire to avenge Maria, but also believing in who I am. You can relate to that in some fashion, can't you? Staying true to what you believe in no matter what to accomplish your objective? Isn't that the very reason why you have gotten to where you are now?"

The bat didn't respond and simply looked down. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right.

"Despite your betrayal, a part of me has to respect you for that…despite that you are out only for yourself…" Shadow continued. "Because, truth be told, I'm out for myself as well…" He took his hands off of her shoulders and brought them back to his side before giving her a look, closing his eyes, and making his way towards the exit.

Rouge kept looking down to the walkway as Shadow reached the door. She was a bit confused. Shadow told her he was out for himself, but if that was the case…

There was something she had to be sure of. "Shadow…?"

The hedgehog came to a stop just at the door, turning his head slightly so that he could see her out of the corner of his eye.

"If what you say is true and the only thing you care about is avenging your friend Maria…" Rouge began as she lifted her head up and turned his head in the same fashion as him. "…Then why did you save me on Prison Island? There could've been one last person for you to worry about in your path to avenging her. So…why?"

Shadow himself had questioned as to why he saved the bat's life. And for a long time, he didn't know why he did what he did. It wasn't until now, when she actually asked him the question, did he finally come up with an answer. "I saved you because…"

He paused and Rouge turned around so that she was fully facing him, waiting for him to continue. "Because what…? Tell me…I have the right to know why…"

"Because…" Shadow had to take the time to think of his next words, regardless of how simple they were for the average person to say. Finally, he found his words and also turned his head so that he was looking at her fully before finishing. "…you remind me of her…"

Rouge's eyes went wide with shock. She, of all people, reminded Shadow of his dear friend who was taken away from him all those years ago? That was the last thing she ever expected to be the reasoning as to why he saved her from the exploding Prison Island. "S-Shadow…I…"

The hedgehog turned his back to her once more. "I must go now. And please, leave the emeralds where they are. It's for your own good…and safety." With that last word being spoken, Shadow took off out of the room, heading for the Eclipse Cannon to put a stop to the trespasser who dared to interfere with its firing.

Rouge, still shocked at what Shadow's confession, backed up to the stand the control panel was on and leaned her back against it and sliding down to the walkway in a seated position. "You…stubborn fool…You'd better not die on me…We're not finished…Not by a long shot…"

She closed her eyes and let a few tears fall from them, making no attempt to wipe them away as the wall she built up around her emotions finally broke.

_**~The End~**_

* * *

_**~Author's Note~**_

_**Another Shadow/Rouge oneshot completed! One of the most memorable Shadow/Rouge scenes, in my opinion! Would've been real cool to see if something like this played out had it went farther! I hope you all enjoyed it!**_

_**Until next time my fellow readers and authors, later and happy reading!**_


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